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Nepal

Nepal parliament fails again to elect new PM

KATHMANDU (AFP) – Nepal’s parliament failed on Friday in its latest effort to elect a new prime minister, fuelling concern that political deadlock will derail the country’s peace process and trigger fresh instability.
For the second time in three days, a vote by 599 MPs fell short of providing a majority to [...]

Read More » No commentJuly 24, 2010

Nepal president calls for majority govt amid stalemate

KATHMANDU (AFP) – Nepal’s parliament on Monday failed to meet a deadline to form a national unity government after weeks of deadlock, forcing the president to order parties to try to form a majority administration.
The move is likely to prolong political paralysis in Nepal as the last ruling coalition fell due to [...]

Read More » No commentJuly 13, 2010

Nepal prime minister resigns amid Maoist pressure

KATMANDU, Nepal – Nepal’s prime minister announced his resignation Wednesday, bowing to pressure from opposition Maoists who have been demanding his ouster in parliament and in street protests.
Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal said in a televised speech that he decided to resign to end a political deadlock and shore up the [...]

Read More » No commentJuly 1, 2010

Nepal PM to resign Wednesday: spokesman

KATHMANDU (AFP) – Nepal’s prime minister will formally resign in a televised address to the nation on Wednesday evening, more than a month after he first agreed to stand down, his spokesman said.
Madhav Kumar Nepal has been under intense pressure from the opposition Maoist party to quit ever since he agreed [...]

Read More » No commentJune 30, 2010

Nepal’s blind cricketers bat to dispel prejudice

KATHMANDU (AFP) – Pawan Acharya, a major in the Nepalese army, only became aware of the difficulties faced by blind people after he lost his own sight in an ambush by Maoist rebels during the country’s civil war.
Ten years later, he is waging a campaign to revolutionise perceptions of disability in [...]

Read More » No commentJune 17, 2010

Nepal leaders still at odds as crisis looms

KATMANDU, Nepal – Nepalese government and opposition leaders failed Wednesday to resolve disagreements that could leave the Himalayan nation without a functioning legislature by the weekend and heading for political chaos, a ruling coalition official said.
The two-year term of the Constituent Assembly, which was elected in 2008, expires on Friday. The [...]

Read More » No commentMay 27, 2010

Everest sherpa: Global warming makes climbing hard

KATMANDU, Nepal – A Nepalese Sherpa who climbed Mount Everest for a record 20th time said Tuesday that the melting of glacier ice along its slopes due to global warming is making it increasingly difficult to climb the peak.
“The rising temperature on the mountains has melted much ice and snow on the trail [...]

Read More » No commentMay 26, 2010

Crisis looms in Nepal as political divide sharpens

KATMANDU, Nepal – Time is running out for Nepal.
More than two years after a Constituent Assembly was elected to help guide the Himalayan nation out of years of civil war and political upheaval, the constitution it was supposed to draft remains unwritten amid endless political bickering.
On May 28, the Assembly’s tenure — [...]

Read More » No commentMay 15, 2010

Nepal’s streets lively after crippling strike ends

KATMANDU, Nepal – Markets reopened for business, vehicles returned to the streets and some banks allowed customers to withdraw cash in Nepal on Saturday after the former communist rebels ended their debilitating general strike after six days.
In the capital, Katmandu, residents rushed to the local markets to buy fresh vegetables and [...]

Read More » No commentMay 9, 2010

Maoists end general strike that had crippled Nepal

KATMANDU, Nepal – Nepal’s former communist rebels ended their general strike late Friday after six days because of the hardship it caused in the Himalayan country.
Transportation, schools and businesses were closed in Katmandu and other cities during the strike aimed at pushing out the present coalition government. Opposition to the [...]

Read More » No commentMay 8, 2010